We have never respected our NHS, and applauded the people who work in it, as much as we do now. Excellent! But let us not forget the NHS has been special ever since it was started in 1948. The aims, the fundamentals of our NHS are so strong; Top quality services. Total equality for all. Taxpayer funded. These are the Golden Rules which we all support so readily.
As we agree so much, why is it then that we still allow politicians to be in charge? The old issues of Left and Right do not apply. Basically, it is a question of leadership and management. And what do we get? Ministers come and go – usually they are in charge for less time than the average football manager. Even worse than that! A football manager has knowledge and experience of football to start with. You can probably name plenty of "good" football managers over the years.
And it matters so much who is the Boss! Think about your own experience in your job, your company, your team, even your own family (only joking!) Great when we have a good Boss, awful when we are stuck with a bad one. And it is no good thinking that does not apply with the NHS as we can always vote in some new bosses. No! The NHS is not as simple as that; the issues are often complex and difficult, they demand people focussed on consistent attention to detail, as well as prepared for long term planning and rigorous follow up. Politicians guarantee us exactly the opposite of all that.
This is the key. All we need to do is start trusting ourselves more. Why not? We are a talented lot. But how much of that talent is hidden because "politics" puts off so many good people from coming forward? We are also fair-minded and tolerant. We can easily set up a new democratic structure with full powers to run the NHS; more efficient, more open, more responsive. The only trouble is that at present politicians hold all these powers and they will never willingly give them up. Nothing will change unless we make this happen ourselves.